Judge Suddenly Leaves Trial of Man Accused of Shooting Migrant

A judge walked out of court on Thursday during the third week of the trial against Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, 75, who is accused of killing a migrant on his property in January.

Judge Thomas Fink abruptly left the courtroom because he thought the proceedings were being dragged out by both the prosecution and the defense. Video posted by Phoenix station KSAZ shows Fink exiting the bench as Kelly's attorney, Brenna Larkin, starts to speak. She asks the judge if he can hear her and then says, "Oh," when she realizes Fink is leaving.

The Context

In February, Kelly was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting and killing migrant Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. Cuen-Buitimea died on January 30 on Kelly's 170-acre Nogales ranch.

Kelly pleaded not guilty on March 6 to charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. He was offered a plea deal that would have reduced the charges to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty, but he rejected it.

What We Know

Fink walked out during the court proceeding during an apparent moment of frustration over the prolonging of the case, which is scheduled to conclude next week.

A longer video of the proceeding, posted by TV station KVOA in Tucson, shows Fink confronting both sides about the number of witnesses and the amount of cross-examination that has yet to take place.

"I'm gonna start imposing time limits in this case on direct and cross-examinations," Fink said after Kelly notified the judge of witnesses who have yet to be called on behalf of the defense.

"When we discussed this case, and leading up to this case and during the trial, counsel informed me, advised me, that this case would take three weeks," Fink said. "Today is three weeks. We started on March 21. Today is three weeks, and the state's still in its case."

Fink said he's been asking counsel on both sides about witnesses and the perceived length of their testimony. He also said he is monitoring proceedings to see if he had to "exercise any authority over the pace of the case."

He added that he's been asking counsel on both sides, monitoring proceedings to see if he had to "exercise any authority over the pace of the case."

"Clearly, we are behind schedule," Fink said. "This case is going to go to the jury next week. It's going to go to the jury next Thursday. And I'm gonna move this case so that happens."

He then imposed a five-minute time limit for the defense, which objected on the grounds of constitutionality. In response to the objection, Fink reduced the time to four minutes, which led to additional objections.

At that point, Fink notified counsel that the court reporter would remain in the room and be a point of contact as he stood up and walked out.

Views

Attorney Nicole Brenecki told Newsweek that longer cases are often more beneficial to defendants.

"Witnesses' memories fade over time," she said. "Sometimes, witnesses and evidence disappear. The general public's emotions and views regarding a case fizzle out over time as well, which can translate into a less biased jury. Further, [the] passage of time often motivates the parties to reach a resolution out of court."

She said the current state of the Kelly case, with no resolution between both parties being reached before a jury takes over, is combined with the political and legal questions surrounding illegal immigration.

"As such, Kelly as a defendant may not enjoy the aforementioned benefits of passage of time in his case," she said.

Earlier this week, Fox News reported that jurors were taken to the scene of the shooting in Kino Springs, just outside of Nogales.

The defense has argued that Kelly only fired warning shots into the air before the fatal shooting.

Earlier this month, prosecutors said Wanda Kelly, the rancher's wife, conflated pertinent details in the case—changing her story about how many gunshots she heard from the five or six she told law enforcement officials after the incident to four shots later.

"I was not counting," she said on the stand on April 3. "My husband was out there, facing these guys with guns. And you think I'm gonna stand there and count how many times I hear a shot? You're crazy."

What's Next

The trial was initially scheduled to conclude on April 19.

Update 4/12/24, 12:02 p.m. ET: This story was updated with more information and background.

Update 4/12/24, 2:14 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from attorney Nicole Brenecki.